Today, we started our day at an incredible museum called the Newseum. This building is entirely dedicated to the history of the news and media in the way it has shaped our world. There is a piece of the World Trade Center and the Berlin Wall in this museum as well as original newspapers dating all the way back to the 1400's. We had a chance to view Pulitzer Prize photos over the years and learn more about the risks that some journalists have taken to expose truths that others did not want to be shared. It was inspiring to see the stories they have told and the great impact they have made on our own world. To top it all off, we got an amazing view at the top of the building that made for some great pictures!

Next, we boarded the buses and made our way 80 miles north to Gettysburg. Once we arrived we walked through a museum full of civil war artifacts as we attempted to wrap our minds around the immense tragedy that occurred here. Students saw flags and uniforms and even two musket balls fused midair from the intense barrage. After the museum, we went to a video that walked us through the significance of this battle in the whole of the civil war and then to a beautiful cyclorama. Completed in the 1880's this huge oil painting of the battle of Gettysburg wraps around a circular room that we stood in as different parts of the canvas were lit up to tell the story of the battle. It was a masterpiece that really brought the story to life.

After our time at the visitor center, we boarded the busses again, but this time we were joined by our very own licensed battlefield guide. He took us all over the actual grounds and had us exit to survey what the territory really looked like while he narrated what happened, explained why certain military tactics were used and revealed the impact that these choices had on the soldiers and the town. We found ourselves at the start of Picket's charge, among the rocks of Little Round Top, and on the ground where 1st Minnesota infantry regiment sacrificed their lives to hold the line. At the end of the tour, we ate in Gettysburg and then trekked home to head to bed for another exciting day at the Capitol!